Shameless

Auckland Now's Richard Boock calls this the most brazenly deceitful government for the past 50 years:

Credit where credit's due. This might not be the most deceitful New Zealand Government of the past 50 years but it's certainly the most brazenly deceitful. If there were to be awards for sneering-in-your-face dishonesty; for being deliberately misleading and for sweeping inconvenient truths under the carpet, the Class of 2012 would already be assured of the silverware. Seldom, in the field of shameless chicanery, has one Government achieved so much.

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These guys aren't even bullsh*t artists; they could never be accused of being that cunning. To call them Machiavellian would be to spit on Niccolò Machiavelli's grave. That's why, if there were to be a prize for saying one thing, doing another, and thinking no-one had noticed, they'd have to win it hands down. New Zealand's most openly dishonest Government? The Shifty would have to go to them. No-one else would come close.

I don't think its quite brazen deceit; I think the problem is one of total shamelessness. Public shame is an important check on the actions of politicians. Most would stop and think and be concerned about how it would look if they prostituted New Zealand law, turned part of the country into a dictatorship, or started selling our assets at bargain-basement rates to their rich mates (most would also be ashamed to be publicly labelled the most openly dishonest government in 50 years). Not National. They just don't care what we think. Either they've forgotten that they live in a democracy and are up for re-election in 2.5 years, or they've already decided that this will be their last term. Either way, the constraint has broken down, and we are at their utter mercy.